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Topic: Making acquaintances on the road (Read 7121 times)

We are relatively new to full-timing (since the first of this year) and one of the things that we are having some frustration with is feeling disconnected from other people. We have made efforts at each of the locations where we have stayed for more than a couple of days to connect with folks who want to socialize, go out to lunch or dinner, etc. For the most part we have been unsuccessful. As an example, we teach beginning ballroom dancing. We have twice volunteered to conduct classes at resorts where we were staying for two weeks or longer (both of which were motorcoach resorts with plenty of long term occupants), and had zero interest in both places - not even one couple came out in either place. We have invited people to go out to dinner and have been told "We don't go out much" or "I go to bed at 7:30PM".

We are interested in knowing about the perspective and experience of others who have been full-timing for a longer period of time. Have you experienced the same frustrations? Have you made connections that have turned into friendships? Do you have any advice for connecting with folks while you are on the move? Do most people tend to keep to themselves? Are we unrealistic in thinking that we will connect with others for short periods of time while traveling?

Do you ever travel with others? We would love to find some like minded and compatible folks to travel with.

Please tell us more. Their website does not offer very much in terms of explanation.

Started by Technomadia and a few other people. If you full-time or part-time a lot, if you sign into the website with your location every time you move, you can see who of your friends are close to you--maybe in the same park. And if there's someone in the park you don't know, but they are members of RVillage, then contact and introductions are easy.

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Karen and Teddy-the-KittyMostly stationary for now in a 32' Class C (2013 Winnebago Access Premier)

This was our first year to snowbird. Have not taken the full time jump and not likely too. I can tell you we experienced some of the same issues since we went to Florida with no plan and floated around the state. When you are not staying somewhere for along time it is harder to get in with the in crowd. We did have good luck at 2 of the parks we stayed at. I wish I could tell you how but I think it is just the park and the folks there and how friendly they are. The 7:30 thing is very true we ran into that as well. We like to sit out by a fire till late in the night and the over 55 parks turn out the lights at 7 then up at 5. The big thing is to join the activities and get yourself out there. The problem we had was they start it all at 8 in the morning. My wife is NOT a morning person. Long story short there is an Rv park out there you will run into that has the people interested in what you are and you will just slide right in. We did and will be going there only next year. PS: We did make some friends from Canada and are heading for a visit there in Sept of this year.

Roger! There are many groups in the RVillage.com. Such a variety of choices in interests and activities to choose from. I am a member as the people in the park I am at stay in their own "little world". I have met a few; and it is very difficult for doing any activities or outings with them. Of about 160 occupied space; maybe 2 are close and 10 are cordial enough to converse with.

I have picked this as my temporary spot for taking care of my health related maladies. Have two great VA medical centers and i'm close to everything I need. I also can be found on the RV Dreamns Forum as "PIEERE".

Come to some of our RV Forum rallies or join one of the organizations like Family Motor Coach Association, Good Sam, or Escapees. Not only do they have rallies but their rally seminars are great. Sometimes they also have vendors who do maintenance. It's a very good way to meet other RVers. Also, they have chapters some of which are geographically (such as California) oriented, manufacturer oriented (such as Monaco), or by subject (such as music) which sometimes are called Birds of Feather chapters. These organizations are a great way to meet like-minded people who enjoy similar interests.

The isolation of becoming a single full timer traveling was one of my big concerns. We have a summer Seasonal park model and like many have said there are very few (4-5) we hang out and do stuff with and two of those are families that are also long time friends from our home town who just come up to lake on weekends. Most at our campground our seasonals and most are short chat once in awhile types or they are there to get away and spend family time so they don't want to socialize with other campers. We are at the end of our camp ground with 2 joined open spots past us, most years they are just rented on weekends or holiday's by big families. I enjoy meeting them but some want to socialize and other don't. I enjoy traveling, nature, good BBq, pot luck get togethers, sitting around campfire chatting, listening to oldies, classic rock or country (not to loud to be heard by other campers), fishing, hiking/exploring, swimming, horseshoes, beanbags, ladder ball, playing cards, dice & board games. It's nice to find out about RVillage and being able to log on and find others who share your interests & might want to hang out once and a while :-)

I am so happy to see this post from a man. I know it might be sexist but, I didn't think that many men think about this. My DH is very friendly & so am I. He'll strike up conversations with people. But I'm the one that wants to find people to hang out with. Do as you said, dinners, go places with.

Everyone is friendly in most campgrounds. But as you said, they don't seem to want to strike a friendship. We did come across some people that talked to us & we wound up going to breakfast with them. Also in one place, we spent afternoons talking between our sites. That is few & far between though.

Anyway, you should try rvillage . I did find some people in the campground I was staying. One was a workkamper so didn't have time except maybe at night. The other was leaving the next day.

Both my husband and I love to meet new "friends" as we travel. Usually, as we are walking our dogs, we stop to chat with anyone we meet, at least offering a "Good Morning ... How are you today?" After a couple of trips around the campground, we usually find someone that is like minded and we get to know them better. We have joined with others for happy hours or just a sit around the campfire and often then get together to explore the area, go biking, hiking and sometimes out to lunch or dinner. We have formed several lasting friendships with people we have met along the way.

One thing that we have found is that many of the RESIDENTS of RV Resorts do not seem to be looking for new friendships with those making short stays. We have met many residents in the resorts that are polite and friendly but they are usually not that interested in sightseeing or the other activities that we enjoy. After all .... it's their "neighborhood" and we are transients.

We have joined RVillage and will be posting our whereabouts once we get back on the road next month. Maybe our paths will cross someday.

If you wish to find some friends and like to socialize, join Escapee's and stay at a few of their parks. They always have a Happy Hour at 4:00pm to welcome new folks to the parks. We have made some good friends and have traveled with folks we have met there.

I signed up for Rvillage this morning and made two connections almost immediately at the resort where we are currently staying! One couple is just a few sites away, and we found them literally five minutes after I realized they were in the same park. The other couple left a note that they will be back later in the evening and left their site number so we could stop by. i could not be more pleased regarding the suggestions about Rvillage.

PatrioticStabilist

It's easier for married folks. Try traveling with a challenged daughter, most people avoid you. But I expect it so I don't let it bother me. I understand peoples avoidance, they don't know what to expect and are reluctant to get involved, but we aren't fulltimers or anything just go occasionally. But we don't let it stop us from enjoying ourselves.

It's easier for married folks. Try traveling with a challenged daughter, most people avoid you. But I expect it so I don't let it bother me. I understand peoples avoidance, they don't know what to expect and are to get involved, but we aren't fulltimers or anything just go occasionally. But we don't let it stop us from enjoying ourselves.

Carolyn,

I for one, would love to meet you and Sue Anne. I've been following your posts for a long time and was looking forward to possibly meeting you at Quartzsite this year. Now that we're full time in the RV, perhaps it will happen some day.

I travel single in a couples world. It is hard to make friends sometimes!

One thing that has helped, is get a simple business card. At least then if you meet someone nifty, they can remember your name and if they have a card, then it makes it easy for me to remember theirs.

Some folks are just good for casual chit chat, others can be enticed into pot-lucks or a meal out. I find most folks are more receptive to a luncheon out rather than an evening out. I like to push pot lucks and it's amazing what a few can throw together.

Also, if you are a friendly sort, buy some extra chairs. I am single but my patio usually has 4-5-6 assorted chairs. This does make it miles easier to meet people when you have somewhere for them to sit.

Some fulltimers are on a tighter budget than they care to admit, so they are more apt to enjoy things around the campground at your place or theirs, or a lower cost luncheon over a pricier evening out.

I met a couple that gave me a wonderful idea for meeting people. It's how I met them!

They invited about 6 or 8 folks (including little old me) over for a bring-your-own-drink and chair happy hour at their rig at 4pm. (Held outdoors.) They made hors d'oeuvres and asked folks to bring their own drinks and optionally their own chair. We all met at 4 at their place and had a blast for about an hour or so. Someone else volunteered to do the next happy hour the next day. Suddenly little happy hour parties were popping up all over the campground.

At the time I wasn't even drinking (alcohol) but I took a big iced tea. It was fun! I hosted a few too and it was fun.

Have you tried MeetUp.com? I love this site. If you have an interest plug it in and look for local meet up groups in the area. Obviously this would be mostly people of the local community and not the campground group.

You just have to keep trying. I am from the friendly midwest and owned my own retail business and learned that if you want to get a conversation going find, something the other person wants to talk about. I have traveled quite a bit motorcycle camping, golfing, hunting, and vacations and can usually find someone to talk to about something. If they don't respond or warm up move on.

In your case you could give be giving free ballroom dance lessons across the street from me and I would not check it out. If you came by and strike up a conversation and suggest going out to eat together I will say no. I like to cook and would rather eat food done the way I like it thantry a restaurant. Does this make me unfriendly, no, it just doesn't make me your friend. Plus, if I get too friendly with needy people they sometimes don't know when to go home or that I might want some privacy from time to time. If I get up early and go golfing, and you and your spouse are not "morning" people does that make me unfriendly, no, again it must makes me not likely to be your friend.

So if you wanted to talk with me about golf, motorcycles, baseball, crockpot cooking, grilling, barbecuing, hunting, fishing, baseball, hunting dogs, farming, or lots of things I could converse at will. If you said you teach ballroom dancing, I would say "oh".

As someone once said, "if everybody you meet in the morning is unfriendly, and everyone you meet in the afternoon is unfriendly too, it might be you, or your approach, and not all the other people.

Roger, did you make connections with the RVillage people and how did that go?

I'm also from the "friendly" Midwest. Eric, my husband, is always amazed at how easily I make new acquaintances. I've had people will say to me "I can't believe I just told you that..." I think the key is being a good listener and being truly interested in what the other person has to say. I know that sounds rather simplistic and I realize that some people are just plain unapproachable.

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A girl called Max, her husband Eric, Princess Kitty, and Molly the Service Dog in training.

We have been on the road for close to 19 months now and there have ben stretches that we have felt the same at the beginning of our journey mainly. But it's sort of like a snowball rolling down hill. The group of people you meet and stay in contact with keeps growing over time. Before long you find yourself saying,,, it really is a small world as you start bumping into people you have meat along the way. We are not large group type people however going to some type of rally really is a good way to meet a bunch of people at once and if you even make 1 or 2 new contacts it's all worth it.

Roger, did you make connections with the RVillage people and how did that go?

I'm also from the "friendly" Midwest. Eric, my husband, is always amazed at how easily I make new acquaintances. I've had people will say to me "I can't believe I just told you that..." I think the key is being a good listener and being truly interested in what the other person has to say. I know that sounds rather simplistic and I realize that some people are just plain unapproachable.

We did connect with one couple but they were in town visiting family and did not have any spare time to do anything.

We stayed more recently in a park in Pahrump UT and had a completely different experience - met a lot of friendly folks, went out to dinner a couple of times with two different couples, and had a very enjoyable two weeks.

Just from recent personal experience, 3 Months in Vegas Oct to Jan and 3 Months in Yuma, Feb - End Of April, Vegas was quite closed up and somewhat chilly reception, that being said I did meet a few men who were friendly and I went out to eat with them or coffee while my wife was at work.

Yuma on the other hand was a whole different kettle of fish. Our CG was very active with lots to do and we met several couples we went on day excursions with, went out to eat, sat around and had a good old bull session. I have met several couples that have exchanged business cards with, I made up one for us with our contact info on it and have given a few away and received a few. My wife corresponds with some of the wives on Facebook.

I just talked to one of the guys who I met in Yuma today, he is my mentor in getting started in RC Model Sail boating.

I normally just walk up to someone who has something interesting he is doing and talk to him. People are always willing to tell you about what interests them.